Fresh surge in arrests of human rights activists in Iran, say advocates

At least 14 lawyers and other civil activists are said to have been arrested in recent weeks

Iranian lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh with her husband Reza Khandan (Getty)

When Iranian human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotuoudeh was arrested at her home and hauled away to Evin prison in June, her husband, Reza Khandan, did what he’s always done when his outspoken wife gets into hot water: publicly agitate for her release.

Then on Tuesday, he was arrested, too.

“Someone called me on my mobile and said he’s from the intelligence ministry,” he wrote on his Facebook a day before his arrest. “He said I have to go there tomorrow. I reminded him that within the limits of the law nobody – no agency other than the judiciary – has the right to seek the arrest of individuals. In response to my objection, he said: ‘Then you will be arrested.’”

Iranian authorities are yet to comment on the arrest.

Human rights monitors have detected a fresh surge of political repression targeting lawyers like Ms Sotoudeh and their families. In recent weeks, at least 14 human rights lawyers and other civil society activists have been arrested by Iranian authorities and charged with vague national security offences, according to the Center for Human Rights in Iran, an advocacy group, and Amnesty International.

“The authorities in Iran arrested these lawyers for the same reason all the other human right defenders are imprisoned – to prevent the effective defence of political prisoners and civil liberties in Iran,” Hadi Ghaemi, executive director of the centre, said in a press release.

Philip Luther, of Amnesty, was quoted as saying the human rights situation in Iran had reached “a crisis point”.

It remains unclear why the country’s intelligence ministry and the increasingly powerful counter-intelligence unit of the Revolutionary Guard have chosen this moment to go after human rights defenders.

Under renewed financial sanctions by conservatives in the White House, Iran is facing mounting economic troubles and social discontent over Islamic restrictions. In late December days of nationwide protests erupted, including in far off towns and cities considered the conservative backbone of support for Iranian authorities.

Iranians and independent observers describe deep anger among the country’s 80 million people. Water shortages, unpaid wages, and inflation have continued to trigger scattered street protests in recent months.

Few lawyers are willing to take up the case of those arrested at demonstrations and hauled before the hardline Revolutionary Courts. Iranian authorities may have concluded publicly targeting those attorneys willing to represent clients in politically charged cases will make activists think twice about taking to the streets.

“The arrests are happening within the context of the numerous protests that have been taking place in Iran since the beginning of this year,” said Mansoureh Mills, an Iran researcher at Amnesty International. “The authorities do this as a way to weaken the foundations of civil society which would otherwise provide support for people who want to take to the streets peacefully to voice their grievances.”

In addition to lawyers, Iran in recent days has rounded up women’s rights activists, including lawyer Hoda Amid and Nahmeh Vahedi, according to Amnesty International. It remains unclear whether either have been charged with any crime. Iranian leaders have often accused independent civil society groups and activists of acting on behalf of Tehran’s western enemies.

The arrest campaign appears to have begun on 13 June with the arrest of Ms Sotoudeh, an outspoken 55-year-old who made her career defending women and children in Iran’s legal system. She and Mr Khandan are also parents of a 10-year-old son and 18-year-old daughter.

The attorneys are sometimes handed harsh sentences for speaking out on behalf of clients, and subject to absurd irregularities.

In January, Mohammad Najafi, a lawyer from the central Iranian city of Arak was arrested. He faces years behind bars for publicly revealing the fate of a protester killed in prison.

Then last month, Mr Najafi’s lawyer, Arash Keykhoshravi, was also arrested. Two weeks later, two more lawyers were arrested while visiting Mr Keykhosravi’s home to confer with his family.

In August, one of Iran’s most famous human rights lawyers, Abdolfattah Soltani, was briefly granted a prison furlough to attend the funeral of his 30-year-old daughter, Homa, whose burial was turned into a political protest. Winner of the 2009 Nuremberg International Human Rights Award, Mr Soltani been behind bars since 2011 on national security charges.